Rivian sued over alleged misleading claims on self-driving features

US electric vehicle manufacturer Rivian is facing a class action lawsuit from a number of its customers who accuse the company of making misleading statements about the self-driving capabilities of the R1T pickup and R1S SUV. The plaintiffs argue that the first-generation R1T electric pickup and R1S SUV do not possess the advanced self-driving features that Rivian had promised. They allege Rivian marketed the vehicles with claims that the first-generation models had a Level 3 autonomous system, which would allow the vehicle to drive, accelerate, and brake without driver intervention under certain conditions. However, the plaintiffs state that Rivian’s first-generation vehicles were not equipped with adequate hardware to realise those capabilities. The plaintiffs also assert that no software update can overcome the hardware limitations so that the vehicles can achieve the previously promoted capabilities. According to them, Rivian knew from the outset that the first-generation vehicles would not be able to deliver Level 3 self-driving capability or fully hands-free driving features, yet continued to promote these aspects to encourage consumers to purchase its products. This case emerged after Rivian late last year introduced a “universal hands-free driving” software update that enables hands-free driving features. The technology is available for the R2 electric vehicle line as well as the second generation of the R1 series, which have been equipped with more advanced hardware and computing systems compared to the first-generation models. As of now, Rivian has not provided an official response regarding the lawsuit.